A dated gilt-wood figure of Yakushi Nyorai


Muromachi period (1333-1573), dedicated in 1557The seated Buddha of Medicine of carved and gilt wood, supported on a lotus pedestal and backed by a kohai (nimbus), the right hand raised in the semui-in (Sanskrit abhaya, 'fear not') gesture, the left hand resting on the knee palm upwards and holding a medicine flask, the byakugo in the centre of the forehead inlaid in crystal, the interior with a long inscription in ink including the date Koji sannen hinoto-mi kugatsu hi (the ninth month of 1557). The figure: 28cm (11in) high; overall: 49.5cm (19 1/2in) high. (3).
|The most celebrated early example of this classic icon, dating from the early Heian period (794-1185), is the main image of the Shin Yakushiji Temple in Nara.